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Thursday, April 28, 2016

NEW MUSIC: LADIES OF TOO SLOW TO DISCO: MORE LATE 70s WEST COAST YACHT POP YOU CAN ALMOST DANCE TO; THE BO-KEYS - HEARTACHES BY THE NUMBER; SOIL & PIMP SESSIONS– BLACK TRACK

LADIES OF TOO SLOW TO DISCO: MORE LATE 70s WEST COAST YACHT POP YOU CAN ALMOST DANCE TO

A great set of tracks that's billed as music "you can almost dance to" – and which hits this sweet midtempo groove throughout – filled with female vocals, and served up in a wicked soulful style of AOR! The collection's an excellent all-girl companion to the previous Too Slow To Disco sets – and may well be the best so far, as there's a current of soul that maybe didn't show up that strongly before – as the singers unabashedly go for deeper modes in some of their vocals, while the instrumental side of the tracks glow nicely with sweet keyboards, riffing guitars, and just the right touch of slightly funky rhythms! There's plenty of gems here we might have overlooked otherwise – definitely the best side of the "yacht rock" revival of the past few years – and tracks include "You Can Do It" by Evie Sands, "Be Here In The Morning" by Renee Geyer, "Gotta Lotta" by Lauren Wood, "It's The Falling In Love" by Carol Baker Sayer, "Crazy" by Valerie Carter, "Isn't It Something" by Franne Golde, "Opening Up To You" by Laura Allen, "Temptation" by Leah Kunkel, "Disco Tech" by Carole King, "Dance The Night Away" by Doris Abrahams, and "Take Me With You" by Lyn Christopher. (Includes download.) ~ Dusty Groove

THE BO-KEYS
- HEARTACHES BY THE NUMBER

The Bo-Keys
have been a rock-solid force on the Memphis scene for a number of years – and
here, they take an even deeper step into the city's rich soul history – by
making space on the record for performances by classic Memphis soul singers
Percy Wiggins, Don Bryant, and The Masqueraders! Wiggins gets the most space
here – and opens up in a way that shows hardly any change in his abilities
since his early singles for the Goldwax label – maybe more of a sense of
experience in the way he puts over the lyrics, given some nice deep soul
backings from the Bo-Keys, who burn nicely in a blend of organ and horns.
Bryant and The Masqueraders each on one song – Wiggins on the others – and
titles include "Learned My Lesson In Love", "Set Me Free",
"The Longer You Wait", "Wasted Days & Wasted Nights",
"Last Date", and "I Threw It All Away". ~ Dusty Groove

SOIL &
PIMP SESSIONS– BLACK TRACK

Soil &
Pimp Sessions have been making music far longer than anyone else might do with
such a clunky name – and over the years, they've just gotten better and better,
and found rich new ways to express themselves! This album may well be the
group's best so far – and represents a continuing change from the breakneck
rhythms and intense solos of the past, to territory that's even more
fully-formed – and which has the group embracing some spiritual and soulful
currents we never would have heard a few years back! Some tracks have a
righteous vibe, and almost an early 70s spiritual jazz approach – while a few
others feature guest vocalists in the lead, and have a soulful sparkle that
works equally well. The result is a sound that's got the sort of majesty you
might expect from the cover image – and titles include "By Your
Side", "Connected", "Black Milk", "Papaya Pai
Pai", "88 9th Avenue", "Soilogic", "Simoom",
"Mellow Black", and a nice version of "Cantaloupe
island".~ Dusty Groove